grand river Fishing Report 2024

Suggested tackle for 7:00-4:00 local 3/4 day trips. (1) A 25 or 30 lb. outfit to fish fly line sardines , sliding egg sinker and squid and a lead head and squid. This outfit can also double as a light dropper loop rod for shallow water rockfish. (2) A 40 or 50 lb. outfit. This will be a heavy dropper loop rod for targeting yellowtail , white sea bass and halibut down on the bottom. (3) A deep water rock cod outfit. A 20 size reel filled up with 65 lb. spectra and a 7 ft. rod stiff enough to handle a 16 oz. sinker. If you only want to bring one rod a 30 lb. outfit would be your best bet. TERMINAL TACKLE (Hooks) a pack of size 2 live bait hooks for fishing anchovies and small squid strips. A pack of size 2/0 live bait hooks for fishing live sardines and live squid on an egg sinker. A pack of size 4/0 live bait hooks for fishing live squid on your heavy dropper loop rod. A few long shank rock cod hooks may be usefull but not mandatory on the days we fish deep. (Sinkers) an assortment of sliding egg sinkers from 1/8-1 oz. an assortment of torpedo sinkers from 2-16 oz. Sinker size will be determined by depth of water and strength of current. (Lead heads ) An assortment of "banana" shaped lead heads from 1/2 - 2 oz.

The wahoo fishing has greatly diminished. Since we have plenty on board, we decided to take off to the tuna grounds where the reports have been good. We should be there in 48 hours. Weather is sloppy, choppy.

Tommy and crew

Captain Andrew Viola called in today at 10:33 AM with update from the Pacifica out of Seaforth Sportfishing in Mission Bay.  We returned this morning from a 1.5 day trips.  We had good action yesterday on the Bluefin Tuna.  We had a total of 45 Bluefin Tuna.  We had two Bluefin over 300 pounds (356 and 353).  We also had three Bluefin Tuna over 200 pounds.  Then we had about 12 nice fish weighing in between 80 and 180 pounds.  Late in the day we found a good school of 30 to 40 pound fish.   We had about about 25 of this nice fish.  It was good action right before the sun went down.  Good fishing and good weather.

Next few trips are overnights going for Yellowfin and Dorado.  Our next Bluefin trip departs on Monday night.

UPDATE: I just talked to Andrew and the 356 pounder is a boat record.

The Polaris Supreme returned from a 10-day trip with 31 fish over 200lbs! The top fish tipped the scales at 300.4lbs!

July 10

Slow day in the long range tuna grounds today. It didn't take long after day light to find what we were looking for as far as bird life and dolphin life goes and it was in the area that we fished on the way down and did well and where other boats had done well too in the past few days but this action had been in the afternoon and we were there first light. Things hadn't gotten with it yet. The fish weren't there. We couldn't wait for the afternoon due to us needing to be in San Diego tomorrow so we had to keep her rolling. We saw nothing else for 30 miles other then a few jig strikes for a bakers dozen. We bumped into some common dolphin around lunch time and we caught some tuna with them but it was short lived. The dolphin were being mean and not cooperating. We did nothing after that and called the trip at 3:00 in the afternoon.

The weather was choppy first thing, then smoothed out until around 2:00 and got choppy again. We're having your average rough ride home. It will be a good test for all the bolt holes from antennas that we took off and replaced. No water dripping in the wheel house yet. I think we're good.

We'll be getting in tomorrow at 7:30 in the morning and we'll be turning around for 5. See ya later.

Bluefin in our crosshairs for our upcoming 6 day. School size fish like this and a chance at trophies!

George Davis made his eighth (his estimate) annual charter with Tommy Rothery aboard the Polaris Supreme, and met the boat when it returned to Fisherman's Landing January 13 after an 18-day excursion. It was Friday, but definitely not a bad luck day or trip, as chartermaster George bagged a 257-pound tuna for himself as the boat fished off southern Baja. He might have had a jackpot spot, but by consent the group of eight passengers had a single jackpot winner. Davis runs a construction company from Rancho Cucamonga. "Everybody got a cow," said Tommy, "and we released over 100 tuna. We ended up with 27 tuna over 200 pounds." The day's big winner was Tom Hilton of San Clemente who scored a 293-pound whopper yellowfin with a sardine on a 7/0 Super Mutu hook, 130-pound red line, 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 50T reel blueprinted by Cal Sheets, and a 760H Calstar rod tied by Sheridan Stanton (also on the trip). Hilton said he got the big tuna "‚Д¶in 25 minutes; my best fish ever. My biggest before was 178 pounds. "I knew he was heavy," remarked Tom, "but he bit on the last bait on the last day at the last stop of the day. The fat lady hadn't sung yet, but I could hear her warming up in the wings." Hilton also had tuna of 251, 237, 236 and 213 pounds. The water temperature in the tuna area remains at 69 to 715 degrees, anglers said. High score went to Scott Brown of Costa Mesa, with six over 200 pounds, at 279, 269, 246, 240, and a pair of 225-pounders. Scott said he fished with sardines on 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hooks, on 100-pound Ande line, 130-pound Spectra backing, a Tiagra 50W reel and a Calstar 655 TSS rod. Al Tokunaga had five, at 225, 222, 213, 208 and 201 pounds. The 27 cows was no boat record, but 27 for eight anglers may make for some kind of mark.